Play Book Tag discussion

Anthony Horowitz is invited to a literary book festival in Alderney, along with Hawthorne, to promote his first book about the ex-detective turned private eye. Of course, a murder happens and they are asked by the local police to help solve it.

I have to admit to being disappointed by this third book in the series, but I'm not sure if it's only because I can't help comparing it to the first two, which I really enjoyed. This one felt a little too heavy-handed in making himself a bit of a chump, too hapless to notice things that were obvious to the reader and therefore should have been obvious to him as the writer. He comes across as a bit stupid in this one, with the occasional irritation at Hawthorne a bit too contrived, and his assumptions coming too easily. It was also a bit slow-paced. But it was a clever enough mystery, though with a bit of an unsatisfying ending, which is another point against it. I wavered between 3 and 4 stars, finally settling on 3.5, but rounding up to 4. I did notice that the ending was designed to leave the reader with a mystery for the next book.

I agree. This was my least favorite of the three.